The present invention relates generally to the field of container shipping, and particularly to methods and systems for monitoring and tracking containers and cargo during transportation.
Intermodal container shipping involves the shipment of various commodities in a container from an origin to a destination using multiple modes of transportation such as trucks, trains, barges, feeder vessels, ocean-going ships, and planes. The shipping industry uses standardized containers, which can be mounted on wheeled chassis for truck transportation. These standard containers have two doors at the rear, which can be opened and closed using externally-mounted camshaft levers.
Today, securing container doors generally involves attaching a numbered seal to the door's camshaft lever. The seal can take the form of a bolt, a plastic tie, or an electronic seal, which stores information for later retrieval. Conventional methods of tracking containers typically involve logging of container arrivals and departures from designated facilities. Even the newer electronic seals do not communicate security alerts until after a container arrives at a facility where readers are available. Because conventional security measures do not include real-time alerts, containers protected with conventional seals are vulnerable to tampering or breach during transit.
Following the tragic events of Sep. 11, 2001, there have been several attempts to address container security issues. For example, Boman et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0100379, discloses a system for monitoring the security of intermodal freight containers. The system comprises a monitoring device, reader, server and software backbone. The monitoring device includes one or more sensors for determining if a security condition has occurred. The sensors are capable of detecting temperature, vibration, radioactivity, gas or motion. The device communicates with a fixed or mobile reader in order to determine the security and location of the container to which the device is attached. The reader electronically transmits the information from the device to the server.
However, the Boman system has a number of disadvantages that make it impractical for most conventional intermodal shipping applications. For example, the monitoring device attached to the container does not have the capability to communicate directly with the software backbone. Rather, it communicates via a separate fixed or mobile reader using a short-range, low power radio system. The reader serves as a relay station between the monitoring device and the server. Thus, the monitoring device must be in close proximity to a reader in order to transmit alert signals to the software backbone. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6 of Boman, a reader 16 must be installed on the cargo ship to allow the monitoring devices attached to the containers to communicate via satellite during transit. The positioning of reader devices throughout the transit route is impractical. For example, many carriers would not permit such reader devices to be even temporarily installed for a variety of reasons, including concern that such radio communications devices would interfere with critical shipboard radio communications. In addition, the installation of reader devices on other modes of transportation, such as trucks, trains, barges, feeder vessels and planes would be prohibitively expensive.
Yagesh, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0113783, discloses an intermodal threat identification, detection, and notification transportation security system. The Yagesh system includes a container locking seal configured to be removably coupled to a freight shipping container. The seal includes sensors capable of detecting, container conditions, such as temperature, seal tampering, etc. The Yagesh system may be used to monitor the actual position of a cargo vehicle to determine whether the actual position of the vehicle corresponds to its predetermined route. An alarm condition is generated if the actual position of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined route.
Like the Boman monitoring device, the Yagesh locking device attached to the container is incapable of communicating directly with a computerized alarm monitoring system. Rather, the locking device must communicate with a nearby container state recorder (CSR). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1 of Yagesh, a CSR must be installed onboard the vessel or vehicle on which the containers will be transported. As discussed above, such a solution is logistically impractical.
In addition, both the Boman and Yagesh systems do not provide useful cargo tracking and logistics functions. For example, both systems focus on the physical condition of container itself, and lack tools for processing and tracking data relating to the cargo within the container. Thus, these devices are generally limited to providing a security function and do not provide any useful cargo tracking and logistics functions.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a strong need for a system for monitoring and tracking containers and cargo during transportation that can monitor container conditions, track container position, and provide current logistics information relating to the cargo, which does not require installation reader devices to carry out communications. The present invention provides these and other advantageous results.